THE DOORS Strange Days RARE EARLY 1967 STEREO. BEAUTIFUL RECORD, SOUND & COVER.

	£		122
	$		162

ONEADAYRECORDS – Simply Delivering Quality Music to the World in Quality, Safe Packing.

Postage: UK £4.75 (£1 per extra record). Europe (including Russia) £12.50 (£2 per extra record). Rest of World (including ALL parts of the USA) £16.50 (£3 per extra record). All boxes signed for in quality, safe packaging – I NEVER use mailing envelopes that offer virtually no protection at all – in fact I think these things should be banned as records WILL arrived damaged in them at some time. More details on my packing nearer the end of the listing.

Posting to Russia: Yes, I do post to Russia. But delivery can take up to 4 to 6 weeks from the UK. So please be patient. I will submit a tracking number to the winning bidder, and when the packet arrives there it can be followed online using the Russian post website.

ALSO: I now apply the Ebay ‘4-day’ rule for non-payment to keep things moving – cash-flow is important to any small business. I will always keep my P&P prices as low as possible, and even after yet another Royal Mail price hike from April this year, I have NOT raised my prices and will never compromise on solid, safe packing that is invariably heavier than most you will get. My P&P offers probably the best value-for-money for vinyl records available, and I even will pay for full insurance on any record that sells for over £100 at NO extra cost – that is UK and abroad. Also I aim to post the very same day after payment is received. You WILL see the difference when my packet arrives.

Artist or Band: THE DOORS

Album Title: Strange Days

Producer(s): Paul A. Rothchild.

TRACK LIST:

Side 1: Strange Days; You’re Lost Little Girl; Love Me Two Times; Unhappy Girl; Horse Latitudes; Moonlight Drive.

Side 2: People Are Strange; My Eyes Have Seen You; I Can’t See Your Face in My Mind; When the Music’s Over.

Cat Number: EKS-74014

Label/Format: Elektra – gold labels with matt, smooth surfaces. One ring ridge.

Label Conditions: Both labels are fresh, very clean and attractive with only a couple of very fine and liht spindle marks. This practically archive condition American copy looks and plays superbly.

Mode / Speed: Stereo / 33.3 rpm.

Warps: Assume all records I offer have no warping of any significance and all tracking is easy and effortless and should play on all turntables and even ‘budget’ decks.

Weight of this Record: 140 grams. A very good solid weight.

Country of Manufacture: USA.

Rarity: A rare original in AMAZING condition. The record looks hardly even played, sounds superb and includes a barely worn cover and the much prized graphic/lyric inner sleeve. Any early copy of this classic that survives in this condition is rare and elusive.

Original Year of Release: 1967

Matrix Nos: EKS 74014 A (AL-1) / EKS 74014 B (AL-1)

Muscians: Jim Morrison - vocals; Ray Manzarek - keyboards, marimba; Robby Kreiger - guitar; John Densmore - drums.

Brief Artist & Album Info: The Doors’ second album redefined their uncompromising art. The disturbing sounds of Ray Manzarek’s organ work provided the musical cloak through which guitarist Robbie Kreiger and vocalist Jim Morrison projected. Few singers in rock possessed his authority and emotional intensity, even after his premature death in 1971, he remains one of rock’s most charismatic and iconic vocalists. Last year, me and my wife Suzanne, visited his grave at Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris – a journey long overdue. Strange Days contains some of the quartet’s finest work, from the apocolyptical vision of ‘When the Music’s Over’ - with it’s famous chilling line The Scream of the Butterfly - to the memorable quirkiness of ‘People are Strange’ and ‘Moonlight Drive’. The graphic ‘Horse Latitudes’, meanwhile, confirmed Morrison’s wish to be viewed as a poet, a stance ensuring The Doors were always more than just another rock band. This masterpiece, their second in the greatest year in music – 1967 – the ‘Summer of Love’, is an astonishing work and boasts a very famous and surreal cover with it’s bizarre circus type characters. Also included here is the original lyric sheet/illustrated inner which again is rare in it’s own right. To find one of these this clean and unsplit is near impossible these strange days. How this wonderous album did not even make the charts in the UK is a complete mystery: a nation engrossed in ‘Peppermania’ and competition was intense with so many classics issued that great year. Many of America’s finest were largely overlooked. Initially selling poorly here and copies that were bought often being subjected to heavy playing on basic 1960s record players with thick stylus and heavy arms that probably rendered many copies unplayable. To find an American early stereo issue making it’s way to the UK in this barely played condition and surviving without cover damage or splits is almost remarkable. Many audiophiles also consider American pressings of American bands superior to all others as well. Well this one sounded fantastic to my ears also, this is a record for the connoisseur collector. Finding an example wherever it was made will prove immensely difficult, this up there with the very best Doors albums I have ever seen or heard.

Cover Grade and Format: MINT(–): a single unlaminated format with matt surfaces. These have a gentle hint of texturing. Printed and made in the US and includes the superb graphic/lyric inner sleeve.

Cover – Front & Back: Both sides are in superb condition and will instantly bring a big smile to any winning bidder. US covers are notoriously fragile and have to be stored and handled with utmost care. Well this comes very close to reminding of new with practically nothing to fault either side. Any blemishes are minuscule, if you want a rare cover in archive condition, well it’s here.

Top & Bottom Edges: Both unsplit – that always great news to start – any rub traces tin and faint, again bordering on minuscule. Both are also very straight.

Right Edge: Hugely impressive: immaculate, clean, very sharp with no wear, burring or thickening and guaranteed untrimmed. Record is stored here.

Spine and Text: A pristine Mint spine: solid, straight with no compression or splits. Quite simply as made with all text perfect as seen in close-up.

Corners: Tiny tip rubs on the right pair, little else, with nigh-on perfect 90 degree angles retained with no dinks. Any tip creasing again fine and super-faint.

Cover Summary: Quite honestly, this looks like it just came out of a shrinkwrapping, how many US covers will ever survive the years quite like this? It appears hardly handled and probably has not seen light-of-day for decades. This came from the same immaculate lot as The Band ‘Big Pink’ (now sold) and Forty Foot Hose, I am currently offering. An all-round superb example the likes rarely seen or offered. It should please most-all collectors.

The Inner Sleeve: EXCELLENT(+): not seen this many times and rarely as lovely as this. Most copies of this album will NOT include this rare lyric and graphic inner, especially UK examples. Only downgraded a little for two left corner creases which were possibly deliberate to stop the record sliding out. This often down by retailers themself prior to selling. Very clean and fresh and barely aged at all. Tghe record enters this unlined inner from the top (above the graphi). Superb stark images they are too, this is a legendary inner and rarely seen in such superb condition. The other side has the song lyrics in full. Do not underestimate the rarity of this inner and finding one much better will also prove incredibly difficult. All edges intact and strong, the previous owner had the record inside a protective alternative cover.

Vinyl Condition/Visual Grading: EXCELLENT(++): and this hardly does this record justice. Under bright angled light, a few very fine hairlines are just seen, totally superficial with no audio sound whatsoever. Truly minuscule traces for a record this great age. There are no penetrating scratches at all, hence no pops or clicks were noted. Just ask yourself, how many 1967 records will have no minor blemishes anyway? With the vast majority heavily played and badly dulled and scratched, this puts this still lovely record into true perspective. For those who did shell-out and buy this vintage record back in the day, most played to near destruction and finding one with still clean and fresh looking is never easy. Two quite small marks on the run-in grooves of side one, without doubt in manufacture, are easily missed with careful stylus placement, so nothing to concern anyone here. Still a superb visual copy that is ultra clean with fantastic shine, intense black and quite heavily pressed. I doubt if this has been played more than once or twice prior to my mandatory sound-check. This top quality item should please most-all collectors.

Album Played For Grading: Yes. [I play ALL records I offer before submitting to Ebay, also the record is played in its entirety unless clearly stated otherwise. I do NOT play snippets or joining grooves to check for sound quality and quietness – I play from the beginning to end via clinically revealing B&W speakers that include the legendary tweeter from their awesome Nautilus range that reveals every blemish or miniscule sound present on any record.]

Sound Quality and Audio Grading: A record that plays even above it’s very impressive visual. The sound is rich and detailed and has all the inherent detail of an early barely played record that also images superbly in stereo. The album is beautifully produced by Paul A. Rothchild and this is just the way he wanted it to sound - no tampering, remixing, remastering etc. This is the real thing and nothing will better it. A very clean pressing with barely any hint of surface sound and no audible pressing issues. Even the challenging and quite difficult intense ‘Horse Latitudes’ – a challenging vocal track that seldom escapes issues, plays perfectly. Deep grooved and more loudly mixed than the debut. The hugely important factor is the lack of distortion – that really unwanted sound caused by groove wear that caused the high frequencies especially to break up and clip – this has totally avoided that, simply because it has hardly been played. All this album remains totally focused and sharp with no crackling. This was a delightful record to play grade, Strange Days is one of my favourite Doors albums and I adore this band as does my wife since I introduced her to them back in 1983. It merits strong recommendation and yet another gem I am almost reluctant to let go. A timeless classic heard to maximum advantage on a record barely run-in in vinyl terms. Such is the scarcity of this great record it’s clearly a wonderful opportunity not to be missed. The ‘Lizard King’ himself would surely have approved?

Now one of the most established sellers on Ebay and still offering the finest and most accurately described and graded records I can find. I pride myself on offering a variety of genres to keep my site as interesting as possible. I will rarely offer any record that falls below a true Excellent grading, unless its of a certain rarity which will justify offering a lesser grade. I try, to the best of my ability to describe as accurately and as honesty as I can all items I offer for sale with all the relevant information I can think of to help any potential bidder and collector. You may notice I only submit records sparingly on Ebay - on average ONEADAY, a couple more at weekends if time permits, hence the name - time rarely allows for more as I Play-Grade virtually every record I offer in their entirety, not just bits to guess a grade - visuals alone do not always tell a true or full story. I will mention any defects or flaws no matter how small that I notice to be fair as possible to any interested collector – I am very fussy and my buyers have the right to be too. Every record I offer, whether it be a common or rare item deserves the same respect as far as I am concerned and will be treated the same - just because an item is rare does not always mean its good. I get just as much pleasure offering a relatively common record in stunning near mint condition as the real rare items. All the pictures I use for your guidance are taken with a digital camera or scanned - they are NOT improved, cleaned-up or made better looking than they are with camera trickery or enhancing with digital programmes. What you see is what you get and scanned labels will give a more accurate representation of the genuine colour than flash photography where light is variable. I cannot guarantee total accuracy for colours however but most will be very close. If any picture I take looks more flattering than the actual item for any reason, I will clearly state the fact in the advert and vice-versa. I hope the item below is to your liking - any questions can be emailed and I will do my very best to answer you. I am enthusiastic, and have a fair degree of knowledge about many genres and I promise quality items - bid with confidence - excellence comes as standard and so does Near Mint regularly. Please assume all records I offer have NO jumps, sticks, warps or writing on covers or labels unless clearly stated to the contrary. Thanks for your interest and Good luck – MIKE.

Deck: Linn LP12/Hercules/Cirkus with Ittok Mk II arm and Ortofon Rondo Red moving coil cartridge (tracks at 2 grams). Amps: Naim Nait 5i with Project USB phono stage and Chord interconnects. Speakers: B&W 704 Floorstanding 3-way Monitors (bi-wired with Terrarium Black terminated cable). All records I offer on Ebay are cleaned on a professional VPI-17 vacuum machine before play-grading for the cleanest and best possible sound and will include a brand new lined inner and protective cover too. Pictures taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR Digital Camera.

PACKING - THIS IS WHAT YOU GET.

What You Get: To confirm to the strict Ebay rules on shipping, I must now send ALL my packets ‘Signed-For’ with NO exceptions. Both buyers and sellers want their packets to have a safer journey and this is not a bad thing.

I now offer the fastest possible posting, often the very next day after payment is received or within two to three days maximum (unless on holiday). I only use FIRST-CLASS Mail. The record’s cover will be placed within a BRAND NEW soft protective sleeve and the actual record will be professionally cleaned on my new VPI-17 Pro vacuum system to give ultimate clean grooves and playing surfaces and the best possible looks and ultimate sound quality. You will NOT get tired, dull looking, dust infested records inside worn and foggy covers with tatty inners from this seller and that’s a promise and guarantee. All records are posted in professional boxes (NOT Mailers, these do not offer any real protection). The record(s) are REMOVED from their main cover to avoid edge splits and placed within a brand new polylined inner. The record’s original inner will be included if available. The boxes are then reinforced with at least TWO, ULTRA THICK stiffeners for maximum extra protection – these are FOUR TIMES thicker than commercial stiffeners and are custom-made for oneadayrecords. Really rare and expensive albums will even be Double Boxed if deemed necessary and possible. When larger boxes are used, the thick record and stiffener ‘sandwich’ is then thickly embedded into bubble-wrap to bulk out the record inside the box to centre the item inside to reduce the risk of damage still further. Printed address labels are used for clarity as well as a sender label. Customers requests or special needs for P&P will be respected if at all possible but ‘Signed-For’ posting is NOT an option anymore. I do not profit on posting and the cost of this lavish packing is NOT even charged for, I offer probably the best-value and safest shipping possible for ultimate confidence. The boxes and ultra thick double-wall stiffeners and bubble wrap make a near impregnable fortress for safe shipping and this is used inland and overseas for ALL my records, not just the rare and expensive. I will invoice any winning bidder as soon as possible after the auction ends. My ‘loss’ or ‘damage rate’ is less than one in two thousand+ based on over 10,000+ items sold in over 12 years of Ebay trading and I consider that pretty exceptional. The only damage rate acceptable for this seller is ZERO and I think my packets will offer just that. It would take a vicious postman or postal service to damage these for sure. Even one of these stiffeners cannot be bent by hand, so what chance 2 inside a box? Oneadayrecords is a MAILER-FREE ZONE. I discount of course for multiple purchases with a maximum of FIVE records per box (one double can sometimes be included subject to total weight). All postage costs are below and at the top of the listing.

NOTE: First Time Bidders: Please ask me first.

PLEASE NOTE: I now exercise my right to open a dispute after the Ebay rule of FOUR days if no payment is received. I will then cancel the dispute to end the, again after the mandatory FOUR days and then offer the item to the runner-up or relist. The non-payer will also be blocked from my Ebay site and they take the Ebay consequences (a strike or removal from the system). Small businesses need prompt payment to trade and these strict rules WILL be applied.

SHIPPING COSTS & CONDITIONS – THESE comply with EBAY’S RULES - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:

Posting & Packing: UK & CHANNEL ISLANDS all now sent via Recorded Delivery:

1 LP (FIRST-CLASS Recorded Delivery with Standard Royal Mail Insurance) [Signed For] = £4.75

1 LP (Special Delivery with Standard £500 Maximum Insurance) [Signed For, Next Day] = £8. (this includes insurance of £500). Add £2 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: EUROPE & SCANDINAVIA. (Airmail Only):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £12.50 (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3). Add £3 per extra LP.

Posting & Packing: ALL OVERSEAS (non-European) e.g. USA (ANY PART OF); South America; New Zealand; Australia; Canada; Japan and other Far East; (Airmail Only: I NEVER use Surface Mail):

1 LP (Small Packet ‘Signed For’ with Standard Royal Mail Insurance [£50 maximum]) = £16.50 (£17.50 for double sets). Add £3 per extra LP. (enhanced Royal Mail insurance is an optional extra £3)

Payment Conditions:

I prefer PayPal or cheque from UK winning bidders. I can accept PayPal from overseas bidders or direct payment into my bank account.

Potential Bidders: I will cancel any bids I feel are time-wasters. A maximum 3 days for communication and 7 days for payment to arrive - if not I will relist the item or offer to the runner-up. Fast deals get great feedback from me. Any questions - please ask and thanks for looking.

My Guarantee: If any winning bidder is not satisfied with their purchase I will offer a complete refund. I will not refund if any defect detail is clearly stated on the advert and missed by the buyer, so read the item description carefully. If any overseas collector does not understand anything in my listing, please email and ask me to help. Thank You.

SOME GENERAL GUIDES TO WEAR AND CONDITIONS TO HELP YOU DECIDE

My Use of Description Terminology: Surface Marks = Superficial, usually light marks, hairlines or light scuffs that rarely sound. Scratch = a needle mark that goes below the record’s surface, some will sound, some will not, my play-grade will inform. Original = a record that has been pressed with the first label design which does NOT necessarily mean a very first pressed record. First Pressing = A record that I believe or know to be a genuine very first pressed record. I do not claim to always know for sure, and that’s why I state the stamper and matrix numbers if at all possible, for those who claim to know what they all mean, the information is there for the collector to decide. I prefer to use terms like ‘Early Copy’ rather than ‘First Pressing’ if I am not totally sure. Surface Sound = Mild, light sound, usually light crackle or similar. Distortion = Break up of the actual sound caused by groove wear or damage from a chipped stylus – the most undesirable form of unwanted sound, vintage mono records were the most prone to this happening but not exclusively so. The symptoms of distortion are high frequency clipping, moderate constant crackle or an echo type sound quality. Violin, piano and vocals are most prone to groove-wear distortion. Feathering = Fraying or softening of the entry edge of a cover. Covers with feathered entrance edges are more likely to have had the actual record inserted and removed more than a non-feathered, sharp-edged cover which are always far more attractive. Set Off, actually a printer’s term for dark ink leaving mild residue on pale or white ink when rested upon. e.g. when a gatefold cover has black ink closed against white, this can leave some black residue on the pale area – this is mostly unavoidable or course.

The Argument for Vinyl Original sound and mix (mono mixes are rarely available on CD), high quality sound on clean copies (played on a hi-end dedicated analogue system – breathtaking sound!), beautiful, large format covers, artwork, inserts and even full size posters etc; huge investment potential, and the pleasure of owning ‘the real thing’.